Traveling Camera Recommendation (~$300-400 CAD)

[Virtunate]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for a recommendation on a good Camera for travelling. I'm heading on a trip for a Week to Washington DC and I plan on taking a lot of photos of the Local Attractions. I've looked at some of the Megazooms on the Market (Nikon P500 and Canon SX30 IS) but I'm not sure they are the right option or not.

I'm looking for a good Camera with a few things in mind:

• Good Shot to Shot Time (Fast Shutter Speed)
• Decent Low-Light Performance
• SD Cards Preferred (No CF or XD Cards)
• Video would be nice
• A Decent Zoom (10X +)

My budget is around $300-400 CAD (not including taxes) Any suggestions for a good camera as well as any additional accessories to buy would be greatly appreciated.

 

[iBookG4user]

If you don't mind skimping a little bit on the focal length on the telephoto side (zoom), check out the Canon S95 or the Canon G12. Those'll fit the bill for every other category. If you absolutely need a superzoom camera, check out the Panasonic FZ35 and Canon SX 20. Image quality and low light performance will be better with the S95, however. (Personally I'd go for the S95 or G12 unless you absolutely need a superzoom)

 

[bikejack]

If you don't mind skimping a little bit on the focal length on the telephoto side (zoom), check out the Canon S95 or the Canon G12. Those'll fit the bill for every other category. If you absolutely need a superzoom camera, check out the Panasonic FZ35 and Canon SX 20. Image quality and low light performance will be better with the S95, however. (Personally I'd go for the S95 or G12 unless you absolutely need a superzoom)

I wholeheartedly concur with the above recommendation of the Canon S95. I purchased one and the quality of the photos are terrific. I do a lot of bicycle touring so the size of this camera is perfect-about the size of a deck of cards.

I have friends who do a lot of traveling who leave their big SLR's at home and carry this same camera with little loss of picture quality. Reviews of this camera are also outstanding in regards to overall performance and capabilities. I just love the large CCD device and large lens opening over most compact cameras which makes for excellent low light photography. I rarely use the flash.

 

[statik13]

Just went through this ourselves. Zoom and good low light ability seem to be mutually exclusive. So for us, it came down to the following, each with their pros & cons. All of these are excellent for night shots and sized well as a travel cam. All of these use a SD card.

Canon s95 - smallest, with a 2.0 lens. Also love Canon's ability to shoot multiple shots on a tripod. (Set it up once, tell it to snap 5 pictures -- more likely one of them will be good)

Canon g12 - largest and a slower lens than the rest, but has a flippy out screen, good zoom and plenty of controls.

Panasonic LX5 - bit larger than the s95 but smaller than the rest. 2.0 lens and amazing video quality. Also gives a wider 24mm lens, which is great for landscape photos

Olympus XZ-1 - The newest of the bunch. Comes with a super sexy f1.8 lens, oled screen (for better use in daylight), excellent manual controls and charges via usb, which is nice to have on holidays as it means one less charger.

It is a tough choice to make between the bunch. We couldn't decide so bought a XZ-1 for myself and the LX5 for the wife.